Measures Raising Wages Pass Across the Board, in Red States and Blue, Sending Signal to Candidates as 2016 Election Cycle Kicks Off

WASHINGTON, DC—On Tuesday, voters in four states and three cities passed ballot initiatives to raise the minimum wage for an estimated 609,000 low-wage workers. In two more states, voters approved non-binding referenda, instructing their legislators to raise the wage for another 1.1 million workers. The near 100 percent success rate for the initiatives illustrates the increasing importance of wages to voters of all political stripes, and suggests that candidates’ opposition to higher wages may come at a high political price in the run-up to 2016.

The wage victories came as Republican candidates eked out enough wins to hand the party control of the Senate, an unsurprising development given conditions that favored Republicans – including the typically low turnout of midterm elections. The approval of ballot proposals on state and local minimum wages in spite of these political headwinds sends a clear message that wages are front and center for the electorate – which may have a decisive effect on the outcome of the 2016 general election, in which low-income individuals and others who heavily favor raising wages turn out in much higher numbers.

“What today’s midterm results say loud and clear is that voters will not simply toe the party line when it comes to economic issues, and in particular higher wages,” said Christine Owens, Executive Director of the National Employment Project Action Fund. “This is not a partisan issue for working folks, but a practical one. People understand that $7.25 is not nearly enough to make ends meet, and that wages must allow hard-working families to raise their children in economic security. This is a clear mandate for minimum and living wage proponents to soldier on until we have fair wages throughout the country, and a clear warning to opponents to change their minds quickly before 2016.”

Residents of five states – Alaska, Arkansas, three cities in California, Nebraska and South Dakota – cast a vote on their state or local minimum wages in binding ballot proposals that would increase the wage floor to anywhere from $8.50 to $15 (see Table 1), affecting 609,000 low-wage workers. In two more states – Illinois, and nine counties and four cities in Wisconsin – the referenda were non-binding, but if legislators follow through on the will of voters, over 1.1 million additional low-wage workers will receive a raise. The approval of ballot proposals in nearly all of these states and localities – including conservative strongholds Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota – signals the increasing prominence of higher wages in a populist economic agenda that seeks to improve the broader economy from the bottom up.

“This is a victory for all hard-working Americans,” said Christine Owens. “It is not only hundreds of thousands of low-wage workers who would be better off – thanks to the support of their friends, families and neighbors who cast a vote in their favor – but American families as a whole will, too. When we raise the wage floor for our lowest paid workers, we improve compensation for better paid workers and boost our local and national economies. That is welcome news for everyone.”

Prior to the midterm elections, a poll commissioned by NELP Action Fund and conducted by Public Policy Polling in six states with highly competitive Senate or gubernatorial races found strong support for increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 an hour among likely voters. It also found that Republican candidates who opposed wage increases faced serious backlash for their opposition in the November 2014 elections and beyond.

Indeed, a new Public Policy Polling survey in 11 expected 2016 battleground states on behalf of NELP Action Fund and Americans United for Change suggests political peril for minimum wage opponents seeking national office in 2016. 60% of voters in these states support raising the minimum wage, as compared to 35% who oppose doing so, according to the poll. The poll also found that voters in these states are less likely – by 18 points – to support candidates who oppose raising the minimum wage, and by a 17 point spread trust Democrats more on the issue. These findings cast doubt on Republicans’ ability to maintain their hold on Congress and take back the White House in 2016 while continuing to oppose an increase in the minimum wage.

Washington, DC – With a vote to raise the federal minimum wage expected in the U.S. Senate soon after Thanksgiving recess, voters on Wednesday urged Senators of both parties to support the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013.

Constituents, including low-wage workers, gathered at the state offices of Senators Joe Donnelly (D-IN), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Chris Coons (D-DE), and Tom Carper (D-DE), urging them to co-sponsor the Fair Minimum Wage Act. Delegations to each office emphasized the importance of each senator’s support and co-sponsorship of the bill ahead of the vote.

Meanwhile, Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Ron Johnson (R-WI) drew fire from voters outside their state offices, calling attention to their record of opposition to raising the minimum wage.

“Millionaires like Sen. Johnson don’t understand reality,” said Devonte Yates, who works for minimum wage at a McDonalds in Milwaukee. “People like me work hard but we can’t survive without public assistance. I make burgers at work but can’t afford to make my own burger at home.”

Small business owners and low-wage workers also held a press conference at the Cedar Rapids office of Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), the lead sponsor of the Fair Minimum Wage Act, emphasizing the economic benefits of raising the minimum wage. An April 2013 poll found that 67 percent of small business owners support raising and indexing the minimum wage and indicated that the majority believe it will help the economy.

“If a small company, like ours, pays all of our employees at least $10 per hour to start, large companies like Starbucks, Macy’s, McDonald’s or Walmart, who all have annual profits in excess of $1 billion, can certainly afford to increase their workers’ wages to $10 or $15 per hour, and still have plenty leftover to continue paying their CEOs multi-million dollar salaries,” said Rhonda Walker, Vice President at Alpha Services Inc., a maintenance services business with 50 employees in Waterloo, Iowa.

The Fair Minimum Wage Act, which would raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 per hour to $10.10, would benefit an estimated 30 million low-paid workers and generate $32 billion in economic growth, according to an analysis of Census data by the Economic Policy Institute. The measure would also index the minimum wage to rise each year with the cost of living, and boost the minimum wage for tipped workers from $2.13 per hour to 70 percent of the full minimum wage.

The events Wednesday occur just weeks after the Obama Administration announced its support for the Fair Minimum Wage Act following a meeting with Senate Democrats. A national poll conducted in July 2013 by Hart Research Associates found that 80 percent of Americans, including 62 percent of Republican voters, support raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour. The poll also found that 74 percent of Americans consider raising the minimum wage to be an important legislative priority for Congress to address over the next year.

The most rigorous economic research over the past 20 years shows that raising the minimum wage boosts worker pay without causing job losses – even in regions where the economy is weak or unemployment is high. A recent study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research reviews the past two decades of research on the impact of minimum wage increases on employment and concludes that “the weight of the evidence points to little or no effect of minimum wage increases on job growth.” In February, leading mainstream economists polled by the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business backed raising and indexing the minimum wage by nearly a 4 to 1 margin, saying that the benefits outweigh any costs.

The National Employment Law Project is a non-partisan, not-for-profit organization that conducts research and advocates on issues affecting low-wage and unemployed workers. For more about NELP, visit www.nelp.org or www.raisetheminimumwage.org.

NEW POLL: Overwhelming Majority of Americans View Minimum Wage Increase as Important Priority for Congress Over Next Year

Members of Congress call for passage of Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 after four years without a federal minimum wage increase; rallies planned in over 30 cities across the country to demand higher wages for millions of America’s lowest-paid workers

Washington, DC – As four years pass without an increase in the federal minimum wage, a new poll released Wednesday finds that 80 percent of Americans – including 62 percent of Republicans and 80 percent of Independents – support raising the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour and indexing it to the cost of living, as proposed in the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 introduced by Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Rep. George Miller (D-CA) earlier this year. According to the poll, 74 percent of Americans consider raising the minimum wage to be an important legislative priority for Congress to address over the next year.

As members of Congress, business leaders, and workers gather in Washington on Wednesday to call for immediate passage of the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013, thousands of low-wage workers and their supporters in over 30 cities throughout the U.S. will hold rallies at major retail and fast food corporations, as part of a National Day of Action to raise wages for millions of America’s lowest-paid workers.

With Democratic leaders signaling plans to make raising the federal minimum wage a high-profile issue ahead of the 2014 midterm elections, the new poll finds that Congressional candidates who support legislation raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 per hour gain a substantial 36 percent net advantage (51% more likely to support, 15% less). More than twice as many voters believe that Republicans will be more to blame than Democrats if Congress fails to raise the federal minimum wage over the next year, according to the poll, which was conducted by Hart Research Associates from July 15-17. [Top-line results of poll available here]

“Four years without a raise is three years too many,” said Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) on Wednesday. “While millions of workers have been without a raise, costs have continued to climb. Between 2009 and 2012, rent has gone up 4 percent, food is 8 percent more expensive, child care costs 9 percent more, and public transportation takes a 13 percent bigger bite out of workers’ wallets. We have to make sure that working families can keep up with the economy. Also, by increasing the minimum wage, we can give tens of millions of workers more money in their paychecks to spend at local businesses, increasing sales and boosting economic activity.”

“The American people understand that a decent minimum wage is not a handout,” said Rep. George Miller (D-CA). “It’s about valuing work. The pressure to act is building. We now see majorities of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents in all corners of the country support this raise. The time has come for American workers to get a raise. It’s time to grow our economy from the bottom up.”

At a noon press conference on Capitol Hill Wednesday, Rep. Miller will join Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Rep. Donna F. Edwards (D-MD) in calling for Congressional action to pass the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 (H.R. 1010 / S. 460). Over 140 members of the House of Representatives have joined as co-sponsors of the Fair Minimum Wage Act, along with 30 members of the Senate.

The Hart Research poll confirms that opposition to the federal minimum wage remains an extreme position that is out of step with the views of the vast majority of voters. Last month, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) stated in a Senate HELP Committee hearing that he would favor abolishing the federal minimum wage altogether: according to the poll, fully 80 percent of voters, including 72 percent of Republican voters, disagree with abolishing the minimum wage.

“When it comes to the minimum wage, every year without an increase means that millions of America’s lowest-paid workers are forced to take a pay cut as the cost of basic expenses continues to rise,” said Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project Action Fund. “Stagnant wages are a recipe for disaster for working families and the America economy alike.”

The Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2013 would raise the federal minimum wage from the current rate of $7.25 to $10.10 per hour by 2015, and it would provide for annual increases to the rate in future years to keep pace with the rising cost of living, a key reform known as “indexing” that ten states have already successfully implemented. The bill would also raise the minimum wage for tipped workers from its current low rate of $2.13 per hour, where it has been frozen since 1991, to 70 percent of the full minimum wage.

Raising the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour would boost pay for more than 30 million low-wage workers. According to an analysis by the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute, 88 percent of these workers are adults over the age of 20; 85 percent work more than 20 hours per week; and 43 percent have at least some college education. The minimum wage is also a staple of support for many families: more than 15 million children in the U.S. have a parent who would benefit from raising the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.

With 70 percent of the economy driven by consumer demand, businesses cite lack of demand as a major reason they are not hiring. However, with overall wage growth stagnant and declining in low paid occupations, many consumers just don’t have the money to spend. The Economic Policy Institute estimates that raising the minimum wage to $10.10 would generate more than $32 billion in new economic activity, supporting the creation of 140,000 new full-time jobs as businesses expand to meet increased demand.

The most rigorous economic research over the past 20 years shows that raising the minimum wage boosts worker pay without causing job losses – even in regions where the economy is weak or unemployment is high. A recent study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research reviews the past two decades of research on the impact of minimum wage increases on employment and concludes that “the weight of the evidence points to little or no effect of minimum wage increases on job growth.”

The National Employment Law Project Action Fund is a project of The Advocacy Fund.

On Tuesday, July 24, thousands of low-wage workers and their supporters will go before large U.S. corporations, members of Congress, and Chambers of Commerce to call for fair wages on the three-year anniversary of the last increase to the federal minimum wage. The Day of Action in over 30 U.S. cities listed below, including New York, where more than 2,000 are expected to rally, will support legislation in Congress to raise the minimum wage to $9.80 by 2014.

The events follow new data from the National Employment Law Project showing that large corporations with more than 100 employees hire the majority of the country’s low-wage workers (66%) – and that their strong recovery after the recession signals it is time to improve wages for the lowest- paid workers. New data from the Economic Policy Institute also shows the wide-ranging impact a minimum wage raise would have on America’s workers and the economy. A national poll of 2012 voters earlier this year found that nearly three in four likely voters (73%) support increasing the minimum wage to $10 and indexing it to inflation.

The coalition supporting the July 24 Day of Action ranges from researchers and policy experts to labor, faith, civil rights and community organizations representing millions of Americans, and includes NELP Action Fund, the Service Employees International Union, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, Jobs with Justice, EPI Policy Center, YWCA, USAction, Interfaith Worker Justice, Credo, Campaign for America’s Future, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, Demos, Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights, Leadership Center for the Common Good, Wider Opportunities for Women, the National Women’s Law Center and other labor, faith and community organizations.

Many of Tuesday’s rallies will take place in key districts or in front of prominent low-wage employers, including companies owned by Bain Capital. For a full list of actions, see below:

Monday, July 23

Washington, DC

12:00pm – Hundreds of minimum wage earners and supporters will rally in support of an increase to the minimum wage with a drum line and speak out.

Tuesday, July 24

New York, NY

3:00pm (Press Conference at 5:00pm in Union Square) – 2,000 will march from Herald Square to Union Square.

Dozens of events to take place across U.S. to put pressure on elected officials to choose a side: big businesses or American families

Washington, DC – On Wednesday a new coalition of major national organizations announced a campaign to call on elected officials to raise the federal minimum wage, launching with a national day of action on July 24, the third anniversary of the last federal minimum wage increase.

Thousands of people, many of whom earn the minimum wage, are expected to participate in dozens of eventsacross the country on July 24, including in major cities like New York and Washington DC, where participants will rally outside prominent low-wage employers and call for fair wages and legislation to raise the minimum wage.

The new coalition comprises a growing number of organizations – from researchers and policy experts to labor, faith, civil rights and community organizations representing millions of Americans, including low wage workers themselves. Members include the National Employment Law Project, the Service Employees International Union, the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, Jobs with Justice, EPI Policy Center, YWCA, USAction, Interfaith Worker Justice, Credo, Campaign for America’s Future, Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, Demos, Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights, Let Justice Roll, Wider Opportunities for Women and the National Women’s Law Center.

On a conference call Wednesday, Christine Owens, executive director of the NELP ActionFund, and Mary Kay Henry, international president of the Service Employees International Union, drew attention to the fact that the minimum wage in 2012 amounts to less purchasing power than the minimum wage in 1968. Meanwhile, corporate profits in 2011 hit an all-time record of $1.97 trillion.

They also previewed forthcoming findings from the National Employment Law Project showing that the majority of America’s lowest-paid workers are employed, not by small businesses, but by large corporations, and that most of the largest low-wage employers have recovered from the recession. The new report details how the majority of these companies — such as Walmart, McDonald’s and Yum Brands — are in a strong financial position, and can readily afford to pay a higher minimum wage. The full report will be released Thursday.

“Millions of Americans are struggling to get by on the minimum wage. They are falling farther and farther behind and their earnings can’t keep up with the rising cost of living. Their paychecks are effectively shrinking, while profits continue to soar for the big retail corporations and restaurant chains that employ the largest share of low-wage workers in America,” said Owens. “America’s low-wage workers deserve a raise—a modest increase will make a big difference in their lives while giving our economy a much-neededboost and barely making a dent in corporate profits.”

Polling data discussed by Owens and Henry indicate broad support for raising the minimum wage. A national poll of 2012 voters earlier this year found that nearly three in four likely voters (73%) support increasing the minimum wage to $10 and indexing it to inflation. That support includes 91% of Democrats, 74% of Independents and 50% of Republicans. It spans all demographic and regional divides by wide margins,regardless of gender, age, education level, race, region, and partisanship.

“Tens of millions of hardworking Americans are struggling to make ends meet and support their families. It’s time for Congress to raise the minimum wage, so that we can create an economy that works for all of us,” said Henry. “Rather than focus on tax breaks and perks for the richest one percent, we need to keep middle class and low-wage families from falling even farther down the economic ladder.”

Prince Jackson, a security officer at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, underscored the difficulty of providing for a family while earningonly slightly more than the minimum wage. “As a security officer at JFK, I feel that my job is critical to the safety of passengers and the airport. I earn$8.00 an hour. After my rent, my cell phone, and my laundry bills, all of my money is gone. I rely on my church food pantry to get enough to eat,” said Jackson. “I have a decade of experience in security. Putting another $80 or $100 in my pocket would mean a lot. I could have some money left over and send it to my son.”

Echoing President Obama’s 2008 campaign pledge, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee and Representative George Miller (D-CA), Senior Democrat of the House Education and Workforce Committee, have proposed to raise the minimum wage from the current $7.25 per hour to $9.80 by 2014, adjust it each year to keep up with the rising cost of living (as tenstates already do), and also raise the $2.13 sub-minimum wage for tipped workers.

The NELP Action Fund is a project of The Advocacy Fund, a non-profit organization under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code.

When Larry Kudlow confronted Romney with opposition from the Wall Street Journal and other business groups to his support for automatically increasing the minimum wage to keep pace with inflation, Romney reversed his previous position, saying, “There’s probably not a need to raise the minimum wage.”

However, when asked his position on the minimum wage on video on January 7th by a NELP Action Fund staffer, Romney responded, “My view has been to allow the minimum wage to rise with the CPI [Consumer Price Index] or with another index so that it adjusts automatically over time.” When asked if he would support that policy as president, he responded, “I already indicated that when I was governor of Massachusetts and that’s my view.”

On February 1st Romney reconfirmed his support for automatic increases to the federal minimum wage to keep pace with inflation, telling reporters on his campaign plane, “I haven’t changed my thoughts on that,” as reported by the Associated Press.

Yesterday Romney also mischaracterized the position he took on the minimum wage as governor, when he supported automatic increases in the minimum wage tied to inflation. In the interview with Kudlow, he said that as Governor “the proposal I made, every two years, we should look at the minimum wage, we should see what’s happened to inflation, we should also look at the jobs level throughout the country, unemployment rate, competitive rates in other states or, in this case, other nations.” In fact, Romney’s expressed proposal as Governor and when he ran for the Senate in 1994 would have created automatic increases in the minimum wage based solely on inflation.

As reported by the Boston Globe in 2006, “As a candidate for governor in 2002, Romney proposed indexing the minimum wage to inflation and boosting the hourly pay for the state’s lowest-paid workers to $6.96 an hour starting January 2004. In March 2005, he was quoted as saying he supported raising the minimum wage to keep up with inflation.”

“As recently as last month, Governor Romney’s stated position on the minimum wage was quite clear. But with his latest flip flop, where he actually stands on this critical issue is as clear as mud,” said Chris Owensof the National Employment Law Project Action Fund. “With this new-found opposition to a minimum wage increase, Gov. Romney has made perfectly clear he is out of touch with the economic reality of low-wage workers and out of step with the large majority of Americans who support a fair increase in the minimum wage.”

Raising the minimum wage draws support from all income groups and political parties, including majorities of independent voters and Republicans. Recent polling found that two-thirds of Americans – a bipartisan majority – support raising the minimum wage to $10 and then indexing it to inflation to keep up with the rising cost of living. If it had been indexed based on the Consumer Price Index since 1968, it would be approximately $10.40 today.

Ten states have adopted the practice previously endorsed by Romney of raising the minimum wage each year based on the Consumer Price Index so that it automatically increases to keep pace with the cost of living. And while Romney indicated that he thinks the current minimum wage of $7.25 – or $15,000 a year – is adequate, eighteen states plus the District of Columbia have raised their minimum wage standards above that level.

Efforts to raise and index the minimum wage in additional states have been gaining momentum. Minimum wage legislation has moved forward in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware in recent weeks, with similar proposals already pending in Illinois, Massachusetts, Hawaii and California. Community members in Missouri and San Jose, California are gathering signatures to put measures to increase the minimum wage on the ballot in November.

During the 2008 presidential campaign, President Obama endorsed first raising the federal minimum wage to $9.50 by 2011 and then indexing it based on the Consumer Price Index so that it automatically rises each year to keep pace with inflation.